"Young master, may I request something of you?" Melody asked.
"What do you want?" Jon said, "As long as it doesn't go against my conscience and is within my capability, I will give you anything you want."
'This is my chance,' Melody thought upon hearing what he was willing to do for her.
"Please recommend me for the battle spirit awakening trial," she requested.
In this world, certain individuals had the potential to awaken Battle Spirits.
It's said that the battle spirit sealed within one's magic sea is the physical manifestation of their innate powers.
These Battle Spirits, once awakened, granted unique powers to their wielders.
But awakening a Battle Spirit wasn't something that could be done freely.
It required an uncommon resource known as the Awakening Stone.
Naturally, something so precious wasn't handed out to just anyone.
To obtain even a single Awakening Stone, one had to prove themselves. That was the reason the Battle Spirit Awakening Trial was created.
It was a carefully designed test meant to filter out the unworthy, ensuring the Awakening Stones were reserved for those with the talent to become true battle masters.
In small, conservative places, ordinary people had no real chance of participating in the Awakening Trial, meaning whether it was the influence of a noble family, backing from a powerful faction, or a personal recommendation from someone with authority, without such ties, the gates to the Awakening Trial remained forever closed to the powerless.
To even get a chance to awaken one's Battle Spirit, one had to either be born into privilege or fight and scheme their way into the favor of someone with authority who could recommend them for the Awakening Trial. Otherwise, no matter how great the potential buried within them, it would remain forever dormant!
Now, Jon was a descendant of the Mountain Clan, one of the three greatest clans in the Stone Village. Thus, he didn't lack the authority to recommend a person or two for the awakening trial!
"I can agree to your request, but only on one condition," Jon said, gently tucking a few strands of loose hair behind her ear.
"What condition?" she asked, raising an eyebrow to express her dissatisfaction.
She had done so much for him since she began serving him. She had given him her body and her heart, and if it were possible, she would have given him her soul too. That's how much she loved him. She was crazy for him. So the fact that he was putting forward a condition to fulfill her request didn't sit well with her. But he was the master, and she was just his maidservant. She didn't dare argue or accuse him of not loving her as much as she loved and desired him.
Noticing her dissatisfaction, Jon grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in until their faces were just an inch apart.
Seeing his face up close, Melody's heart sped up. He was really handsome.
With his eyes boring intensely and possessively into hers, he calmly stated, "Never betray me."
Melody blinked in suprise, "That's it?"
His condition was surprisingly easy to fullfill.
"Yes." Jon said in a voice that had always managed to send shivers down her spine.
"Is that something to ask for? I love you so much. I would never betray you," Melody said.
These words, even if they come out of a woman with average looks but a clean lifestyle, they would be pleasant to hear, but Melody possessed a radiant and hypnotizing beauty.
Hearing her say that with a look of utter conviction, Jon's heart was swayed.
However, one thought held him back from blindly believing her.
'Human heart is unfathomable. One moment it can be warm like jade and the very next moment it can turn cold and cruel.'
Right now, Melody needed him.
But in the future, if their positions were reversed…
Would her heart remain the same?
Or would she turn her back on him the moment she found him no longer useful?
It was hard to tell.
That was precisely why he was giving her the chance to participate in the Battle Spirit Awakening Trial.
If she turned out to be talented, her status would rise. From the maidservant of the unlucky star of the Mountain Clan, she would become the darling of Stone Village. She would be desired by all three clans with each trying to poach her for themselves.
He truly wanted to see what she would do then.
Would she be swayed?
Or would she remain by his side… and serve him until death do them apart?
If it was the latter, he would cherish her like a treasure in his grasp.
But if it was the latter...
Jon's eyes narrowed into thin slit, gleaming gloomily.
The price of betrayal would be heavy!